Hi, sorry for this delayed response. I did not see the notification. The Sprout cost includes the shipping on HOUZZ. It is shipped via FedEx ground door to door. This tree comes fully assembled with the exception of the leaves. There will be yellow pegs in the pre-drilled holes. The foliage will be bundled in the box. We ship it this way to eliminate damage to the foliage. You pull out the peg and then put the foliage stem in. Repeat for the remainder of the pegs doing it one at a time. Keep the pegs in a bag for future use in case you take the leaves out to dust them off. this way you will see the hole and be able to put the leave stems back in easier.

Please let us know how else we can help. Again, I apologize for the delay in responding.

thank you

Shelley